Aaron Collins' Mixed Game Chapters 6 & 7
by Psychoflop
Summary: From 7 tables to 5, and more...


Chapter 6: 2-3-4-5-7 of different suits, From 7 tables to 5.

Level 3, Game 1, Table 4 = No-Limit Hold 'em. 50-75 blinds. Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Melinda 29,125 – Aaron L. 28,325 – Angie 16,462 – Tamara 15,037 – Buckethead 14,774 – Megan 13,500

Buckethead was busy changing the tuning of his guitar while the dealer was away from the table changing the deck of cards. Megan took notice of the notes he was achieving faster than the others and had no idea why. Finally, she just asked him "A-D-G-C-F-A, low to high?"

Buckethead nodded and continued.

"I suppose with a Gibson Les Paul Jumbo, baritone tunings are more practical." opined Tamara.

"What is he? 2 metres tall without the bucket on his head? He could probably break a regular guitar between 3 fingers." said Melinda, a tad scared when Buckethead giggled. He recalled a song he may or may not have written called "3 fingers".

"Probably equally adept at a bass guitar on account of its' longer fretboard." suggested Aaron L.

"Wonder if he could be gentle on a Banjo or with martial art weapons." thought Tamara out loud.

"Oh look, the dealer's coming back. Can we stop talking about Buckethead like he's not at the table?" said Angie, knowing that Buckethead was getting a little nervous at the idea of him being the centre of attention. Sure enough, the dealer returned with a fresh deck. He removed the jokers, shuffled 5 times, splashed the cards around the table face down, gathered them, sorted them until they were 1 deck again, and began dealing.

Hand #1 began with Buckethead looking down at an Ace-5 and deciding to raise by putting in 2 chips of 100 and 1 chip of 25 from under the gun, Angie folding 5-10 off-suit as quickly as she was dealt it, Tamara calling with pocket 8's (hoping that Buckethead didn't have a higher pair in early position), Aaron L. Calling with pocket 9's, Megan folding Jack-9 in the small blind and Melinda folding 4-6 off-suit from the big blind.

The dealer dealt a flop of 2-8-4, all Diamonds. Buckethead knocked the table, indicating a check. Tamara actually decided to slow-play the top set (the straight and flush draws made her a tad nervous), and successfully said "Check" without sounding too excited. Finally, Aaron L. Checked his over-pair with a knock, still not knowing what to make of the man called Buckethead.

The dealer dealt the turn card of a King of Spades. Buckethead knocked the table again, Tamara was hopeful that someone with a King just paired up, so she announced "Check." rather quickly while Aaron L. Also said "Check." (he no longer had an over-pair and considered himself lucky that he was getting a free card. He was also terrified that Buckethead had the check-raise in his playing arsenal)

The dealer dealt a Queen of Hearts on the river. Buckethead knocked the table 1 more time, Tamara announced "Check." praying that 1 of her opponents had King-Queen, or a Queen with a high kicker. Aaron L. Also announced "Check.", essentially giving up the hand.

Buckethead turned up his hand in silence, The dealer spoke "Ace-High."

Tamara then stared at Aaron L. While asking "Can you beat trip 8's?"

Aaron L. Shook his head as he mucked his 9's, "Glad I didn't bet."

Tamara took in her pot of 800 with a smile that suggested some relief that no one had the flush.

Hand #2 began with Angie folding King-2 from under the gun, Tamara announcing "Raise, 225 total." with Ace-5, Aaron L. Folding 6-Jack, Megan saying "Call." from the button, Melinda announcing "Call." as she hated even this big a hand in the small blind, and Buckethead folding Queen-6 from the big blind.

The dealer dealt a flop of Jack-Jack-3. Melinda whispered "Check." as she wanted to see how the other 2 were doing. Tamara announcing "Check." as she didn't even really have enough information on the others to bluff. Megan had a similarly bad hand, and similarly announced "Check."

The dealer dealt an 8 as the turn card (which set up a club straight-flush draw). Melinda lacked the Queen of clubs, so she announced "Check." with a bit of trepidation. Tamara also checked, knowing much less about Poker than the one who organized games at the local Da Vinci Church. Megan announced "Check." as she did not improve her hand at all.

The dealer dealt a 7 on the river (that wasn't a club). Melinda now just assumed that 1 of the other 2 had a straight and announced "Check." Tamara knocked the table to check non-verbally, as did Megan.

"So...My pair of Queens takes it?" asked Melinda.

Tamara and Megan nodded at once as they mucked their hands upon seeing Melinda's. Melinda laughed out loud as she took in her pot of 750.

Hand #3 began with Tamara folding Queen-5 from under the gun, Aaron L. Folding Jack-7, Megan announcing "Raise, 225 total." as she saw that she had Ace-Queen. Melinda calling with Ace-10 on the button, Buckethead folding Queen-9 from the small blind, and Angie folding King-3 from the big blind.

The dealer dealt a flop of 6-9-5 (all Spades). Megan had the Ace of spades but no second spade to go with it, so she announced "Check." in hopes of getting a free card. Melinda had no spades at all, so she just knocked the table happy to take the free card.

The dealer dealt a 6 of Hearts as the turn card. Megan knocked the table, hoping that what happened on the flop would happen here too. Melinda announced "Check." seeing no need to try to bully Megan with her big stack with a hand this atrocious.

The dealer dealt a 2 of Clubs as the river card. Megan knocked the table 1 more time (now out of desperation), as did Melinda (Knowing that if she bluffed she would likely get caught).

"I have Ace-Queen. Pairing the 2 will be enough to beat me." announced Megan, biting her lower lip.

"Beats the Ace that I have, It's all yours." said Melinda as she mucked her cards and Megan collected her pot of 575.

Hand #4 began with Aaron L. Folding 4-6 from under the gun, Megan folding 6-8, Melinda folding 8-9, Buckethead folding King-5 on the button, Angie thinking "Here's my chance." and raising to 225 without saying anything from the small blind. Tamara folded her Queen-4 in the big blind immediately and Angie took in a pot of 300. Buckethead tipped his bucket at her because of how kind she was too him earlier.

"Nice blind steal." said Tamara with a touch of anger in her voice.

"We all had shit." replied Megan in an effort to keep the peace.

"Agreed." said Aaron L. Who recognized what Megan was doing.

"Let's just keep playing." offered Melinda.

Hand #5 began with Megan announcing "Call." from under the gun, Melinda folding Queen-4, Buckethead folding 6-3, Angie folding 6-3 as well but on the button (and of completely different suits), Tamara folding 4-9 from the small blind and Aaron L. Announcing "Check." as his big blind option.

The dealer dealt a flop of 5-10-2 of 3 different suits. Aaron L. Said "Check.", Megan just knocked the table. The dealer dealt a second 2 as the turn card. Aaron knocked the table as he didn't really improve his hand, Megan announced "Check." as she didn't improve her hand either. The dealer dealt a Jack of Diamonds on the river. Aaron L. Knocked the table as he was flagging down a waitress for a Singha beer (not noticing the 2 pair that he just made.) Megan announced "Check." loud enough to suggest that she was annoyed by Aaron L. Not keeping focus.

"Oh. Right, sorry. I have 2 pair, Jacks and 2's" said Aaron L. Still somewhat unfocused.

"Apparently some of us don't even need to pay attention to win a hand." replied Megan (who no longer felt diplomatic) as she saw Aaron L. Take in his pot of 200 with 1 hand as he took his beer in the other hand.

Hand #6 began with Melinda folding 2-4 from under the gun, Buckethead folding Queen-3, Angie folding 4-8, Tamara folding King-6 on the button, Aaron L. Calling from the small blind with Ace-Jack (while taking his first sip of beer) and Megan announcing "Check." as her big blind option.

The dealer dealt a flop of Jack-5-6 (all Hearts), Aaron L. Once again knocked the table without focusing all of his attention on the game (this time at something that was happening a couple of tables over), Megan knocked the table (even more annoyed at him). The dealer dealt a King of Hearts as the turn card. Aaron L. Finally had his focus about him, and elected to knock the table due to 4 different Hearts on the board. Megan had no hearts either and due to Aaron L.'s knack for winning hands when he's not paying full attention, she elected not to bet into him and checked.

The dealer dealt an Ace of Clubs as the river card. Aaron L. Checked his 2 pair, thinking that lightning couldn't possibly strike twice due to the 4-card flush on the board. Megan was now more annoyed at the board than she was at Aaron L. So she knocked the table as well.

"2 pairs again, Ace and Jacks this time." showed Aaron L.

"I knew my 7 kicker sucked, all yours Aaron" said Megan as Aaron L. Took in his small pot of 150.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Melinda 29,350 – Aaron L. 28,300 – Angie 16,462 – Tamara 15,262 – Buckethead 14,424 – Megan 13,425

Level 3, Game 2, Table 5 = Razz. 25 Antes, 50 Bring-In, 150 Completion, 150-300 Limits. Beginning of rotation stacks for the table: John 30,950 – Ricky 29,462 – Laura B. 17,075 – Krystal 15,600 – Mike 14,462 – Trevor 12,350

After everyone anted up, Hand #1 began with Trevor being the bring-in bet of 75 with a Queen of Spades exposed, Mike folded a Jack-7-3, John folded a 2-9-Queen, Ricky folded a Jack-3-Ace, Laura B. Completed the bet to 150 with a 3-4-5, Krystal called with a 2-5-6 and Trevor folded what was his 9-7-Queen.

The dealer dealt 4th street: A 10 for Krystal and a Jack for Laura B. Krystal checked, as did Laura B. As both caught badly. 5Th street gave both Krystal and Laura B. A 9, both ladies knocked the table to indicate a check. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street: A 4 for Krystal, A 6 for Laura B. Both players checked due to their lows being rough (and without an Ace). The dealer patted the table twice and dealt the last card face down to all players: A Jack for Krystal, A 10 for Laura B. Neither player caught an Ace to round out their low, so they both checked. Krystal showed first:

"9-low." said Krystal softly.

"I have 9-low too." replied Laura B.

All 6 players locked their eyes on the dealer analyzed both hands to break the tie: "Krystal, your 2 is the lower 5th card than Laura B.'s 3 as both of you have 9-6-5-4 lows."

"Thank you very much." answered Krystal as she took in her pot of 500.

"I never thought a 4-card tie was possible in Razz." remarked Trevor. The rest of the table agreed with him, in silence.

After everyone anted up, Hand #2 began with Ricky being the bring-in bet with an exposed Queen. Laura B. Folded 10-5-Ace, Krystal folded 2-3-10, Trevor completing the bet to 150 with a 7-5-6, Mike folding 5-10-3, John tossing 8-2-8 into the muck with authority and Ricky not even bothering to defend his bring-in with an 8-Jack-Queen. Trevor merely shrugged as he took in his pot of 350.

After everyone anted up, Hand #3 began with Trevor being the bring-in bet with an exposed Jack. Mike folded Queen-Ace-2, John folding Queen-2-5, Ricky deciding to go outside his 3-card starting hand requirements and completing the bet to 150 with a 10-8-6, Laura B. Folded King-Ace-7, Krystal folded a 5-Jack-Ace and Trevor laughing as he saw that he had an Ace and a second Jack to go with the first Jack and he folded accordingly as Ricky took in his pot of 350.

"Nice ante steal." complimented John.

"Only reason I was in the hand. Ante stealing still gets you the gravy train." countered Ricky.

After everyone anted up, Hand #4 began with John being the bring-in bet with an exposed King of Spades. Laura B. Folded 9-King-Jack, Krystal completing the bet to 150 with a 2-5-10, Trevor folding a 2-7-7 (with a scowl on his face as he was no longer amused over being dealt pairs in Razz), Mike folded a 2-2-9 and John mucking his hand with an Ace-7-King. Krystal took in a pot of 350 while winking at Ricky, he never figured out why.

After everyone anted up, Hand #5 began with Trevor being the bring-in bet with an exposed King of Hearts. Mike folded a Jack-4-Queen, John completed the bet to 150 with an 8-Ace-6, Ricky folding a 9-Jack-King, Laura B. Folding a 10-6-9, Krystal folding a Queen-Ace-Jack, and Trevor shaking his head as he folded a King-Jack-King (as he wondered how he could be dealt 3 consecutive pairs in a lowball game.

After everyone anted up, Hand #6 began with John being the bring-in bet with an exposed King of Spades. Ricky folded an Ace-King-Queen, Laura B. Folded an 8-2-Jack, Krystal folded a 6-Queen-10, Trevor completing the bet to 150 with an Ace-4-3, Mike calling with a 3-5-6 and John folding his bring-in bet with a Jack-5-King.

The dealer dealt 4th street face up to both players: A 7 for Trevor, and Ace for Mike. Both players noticed that the other caught well, so neither was surprised that they checked nearly in unison. The dealer patted the table twice and dealt 5th street face up to each guy: Trevor paired his 7, Mike caught a Jack. Trevor announced "Check." and Mike knocked the table (knowing a bet into Trevor would be pointless as he paired up and would just fold and Mike wanted to "hustle" more money out of him). "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street face up to both players: Trevor caught a 9, Mike caught a Queen.

"300." announced Trevor.

"Raise 300." declared Mike.

And the re-raising went back and forth until Trevor was all-in.

"Turn your hands face-up gentlemen." decreed the dealer, to which both players obliged.

"9-low for me." said Trevor as he showed.

"Jack-low for me but there's still 1 card to go." replied Mike.

As Trevor was all-in, the dealer dealt 7th street face-up: Trevor caught a 10.

"No improvement." he stated.

"So I can win with a 2,4,7 or 8?" guessed Mike. The dealer nodded as he dealt Mike his last card...

...It was a 7.

"Wow, I'm out." stated Trevor flatly. "Great hand, Mike. Best of luck to all of you."

"Take care, T" said John.

"Farewell, sir." said Ricky in his trademark Texas draw.

"Bye Trevor." said Krystal and Laura B. In unison.

A rush of information about Trevor Coulthurst flooded Mike's mind. He felt compelled to say something to him that he had little to no business knowing about: "Come over here a minute Trevor, I need to talk to you in private."

Trevor tilted his head sideways, somewhat confused, but he obliged. Mike put his arm around him and said (in a tone and volume that only Trevor could hear): "Listen bro, I've read some of Aaron's books and I know you're...what did he call it? Oh right, his social handler. I just want you to know that we in the storage world appreciate everything you do for Aaron to make him feel more safe around other people. And I don't think that I'm the only one in the storage side of Aaron's life who respects the living hell out of you for what you do."

Trevor was, to say the least, shocked to hear this from a total stranger. "Thanks Mike, good luck in the rest of the tourney." They shook hands, looking each other dead in the eye for a moment before parting company.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: John 30,900 – Ricky 29,462 – Mike 26,762 – Laura B. 16,775 – Krystal 16,000

Level 3, Game 3, Table 6 = Limit Hold 'em. 75-150 blinds, 150-300 limits. Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Leila 30,150 – Julie 16,025 – Ivy 15,550 – Joe 14,550 – Kate 14,100 – Chiara 13,850

"Wow, these new decks are awesome?" said Kate in excitement.

"Once you get past the extra colours, I agree." remarked Julie.

Once the decks were changed, they went from a standard deck to what is known as a 4 colour deck.

"I like that the clubs are green as they were based on clovers." said Joe, insightful as always.

"I like that the diamonds are blue. I guess blue is a lady's best friend." observed Chiara.

"Why couldn't we have 4-colour decks from the beginning of the tournament?" asked Leila.

"Maybe it hurt the eyes of those inter-dimensional beings." replied Ivy.

The table shared a collective laugh as Hand #1 began. Joe folded 2-5 from under the gun, Ivy folded Jack-3, Leila folded 7-9, On the button, Chiara looked down at King-Queen and announced "Raise, 300 total." and slid 3 chips of 100 to the centre of the table. Julie saw an Ace-3 from the small blind and mumbled "Call." and Kate folded 9-5 from the big blind (struggling to not reference Dolly Parton).

The dealer dealt a flop of 9-5-5 (how Kate didn't throw a chair at someone for folding a full house is anyone's guess). Julie said "Check." with her weak Ace-high, Chiara knocked the table with her King-High, indicating a check. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt the turn card of an Ace of Diamonds (which eliminated backdoor flush draws for both girls). Julie went into the tank, thinking "Hmm. I made 2 pair but i hate my kicker. Better to Check." She knocked the table silently, as did Chiara (she didn't improve). The dealer patted the table twice and dealt an 8 of Spades on the river. Julie said "Check." and Chiara knocked the table. "Time to show ladies." remarked the dealer.

"2 pair but I'm using the 8 on the board as my high card." declared Julie, sadly.

"Good enough to beat my King-high." replied Chiara as she mucked her hand. Julie smiled as she took in her pot of 750.

Hand #2 began with Ivy raising to 300 from under the gun with Ace-10 suited Spades, Leila folded 2-8 off-suit, Chiara folded Queen-5, Julie folded 5-4 on the button, Kate folded 9-6 as the small blind while Joe stared at Ivy for a good 30 seconds. Kate was about to call a clock on him, but Joe waved it off and folded, not defending his big blind.

"I'm feeling generous, let the King of Palmdale have 1. King of Palmdale? What does that even mean?" asked Joe with a sense of confusion.

"No Idea, first I've ever heard of that expression." replied Ivy. Equally confused as he raked in his pot of 525.

Hand #3 began with Leila folding 6-4 off-suit from under the gun, Chiara folding Jack-5, Julie folding 4-8, Kate thinking "Fuck it." as she silently raised to 300 on the button with King-2, Joe folded 9-3 in the small blind and Ivy shook his head while mumbling "Not even worth a big blind defend." as he tossed his Jack-5 into the discard pile. "Huh, that blind steal actually worked?" asked Kate rhetorically as she took her well bluffed pot of 525.

Hand #4 began with Chiara folding 4-3 under the gun, Julie looking down at...pocket Aces. "Pity this is limit." She thought to herself as she raised to 300. Kate called with Ace-9, Joe folded 5-6 from the button, Ivy folding 4-5 from the small blind and Leila folding 8-Jack from the big blind.

The dealer dealt a flop of 2-Queen-2. Julie decided to slow play her hand and checked, Kate checked on account of having nothing. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt a King of Clubs on the turn. Julie came to regret slow playing as there were now 3 clubs on board (and she had the red Aces). She checked, knowing that she screwed herself. Still, Kate checked as she was still far behind (maybe even drawing dead). The dealer patted the table twice and dealt the 5 of Diamonds on the river. Both ladies checked in turn. "Time to show, ladies."

"Deuces and Aces." said Julie with a nervous grin.

"Take it." said Kate as she mucked. Julie nodded and took in her pot of 825.

Hand #5 began with Julie raising to 300 from under the gun with Ace-6 suited spades, Kate called with King-Queen, Joe called with black 5's, Ivy folded his button with 9-8 off-suit, Leila folded her small blind with 3-Queen and Chiara folded her big blind with 8-3.

The flop came 10-9-King of 3 different suits. Julie checked as she missed the hand, Kate thought to herself "I have top pair and a gut-shot straight draw, but the range of hands these 2 have could make at least 1 of them the straight already and what if Julie has Aces again." so she checked. Joe checked as well, remarking "Redheads make me dizzy. I wonder if there's a world where I bid against that Candy girl at auction."

"Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt an 8 on the turn. Julie checked, essentially giving up the hand (she didn't even want the 7 to come to make her straight as she was drawing to a lower straight than what the board offered). Kate checked for the same reason that she did on the flop while Joe asked himself "Am I in the lead with a pair of 5's? No. 1 if not both have me and if I try to bluff 1 will catch me." and eventually knocked the table. The dealer patted the table and dealt and Ace on the river. Julie checked (thinking an Ace was nowhere near enough to catch up), Kate checked (as the Ace was just another scare card), and Joe checked. "Time to show your hands, everyone." remarked the dealer.

"I hit the Ace, but that's it." said Julie sheepishly.

"I got rivered." said Kate as she folded.

"Guess I was gone from the beginning." said Joe as he mucked his cards. Julie shrugged and took in her pot of 1,125.

Hand #6 began with Kate folding 10-2 from under the gun, Joe raising to 300 with pocket 4's, Ivy folded 10-3, Leila folded 10-4 on the button (and getting this strange feeling that something big was about to happen), Chiara announcing "Re-raise to 600." from the small blind, Julie laughing while saying "Not this hand guys." before folding King-5 in the big blind. Joe called, smiling as he did it.

The flop came 2-9-3 of 3 different suits. Chiara opened for 150, Joe raised to 300 (largely to find out where he was in the hand as he had no idea), Chiara called. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt a King of Hearts on the turn. Chiara announced, "I open for 300."

Joe P then noticed Chiara holding her breath, he just figured out that he was ahead in the hand and even she thought she might be ahead of him. "Raise to 600."

The re-raising continued until Chiara was all-in. Joe and Chiara turned their hands face-up before the dealer instructed them to. Joe nearly jumped 3 feet in the air when he realized that he was right in that his pair of 4's was in the lead for the time being. "Come on dealer, 1 Ace or 7 please?" begged Chiara. But the King of Diamonds came on the river, and Chiara was eliminated. Joe took in his pot of 13,100 in silence.

"How did you know you were beating me?" asked Chiara.

"You held your breath." replied Joe as he continued sorting his chips.

"That's incredible, I didn't notice." said Leila, who was stunned.

"Neither did I." replied Ivy.

"She's an Opera singer so..." started Julie, who did notice as well.

"...Checking the diaphragm is best." finished Kate, who also noticed.

Joe chuckled slightly, as that was exactly how he deduced her being behind in the hand. "What can I say? Observance is key in any battle. Joe P #1"

Chiara, gracious in defeat, decided to treat the victor by singing "He's the legend." then walking away not knowing why she sang that. Joe P (to his credit), did know why she sang it, but kept it to himself.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Leila 29,925 – Joe 27,575 – Julie 17,675 – Ivy 15,550 – Kate 13,500

Level 3, Game 4, Table 7 = Limit Badugi. 75-150 blinds, 150-300 limits. Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Candy 30,625 – Jenny G. 28,575 – Thom 16,401 – Allan 16,187 – Phoenix 15,063 – James 14,273

Hand #1 began with Thom folding 5-Jack-10-9 from under the gun, James folding King-4-8-King, Jenny G. Folding 3-Queen-Queen-8, Phoenix folding 10-2-7-4, Candy deciding to call in the small blind with King-10-Ace-5 and Allan checking his option in the big blind with Ace-Queen-3-6.

Candy had the first draw, "I'll take 1 please." and changed her 5 of Hearts for a 5 of Clubs, making a King-Badugi.

Allan held up 1 finger and pushed his 1 card to discard to the centre of the table. He changed the Queen of Spades for a 2 of Hearts, making a 6-Badugi.

Candy knocked the table, indicating a Check. Her King-Badugi was solid, but vulnerable. Allan checked as well, as he was hoping her hand wasn't a made Badugi and he could get her to fold to a higher bet later. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw phase began: Candy announced "Stand Pat." which woke Allan up a bit, then he announced "Stand Pat." (which woke Candy up a bit) They shook their heads to the dealer, indicating that they still didn't want any cards, checked 1 more time by knocking the table and showed.

They nodded, Candy turned up her hand "King-Badugi."

Allan grinned, "6-Badugi."

He raked in a pot of 300, Candy just stared at him and spoke "I've read a lot of...my Aaron's work. Says you're probably the closest to him genetically out of all of us."

Allan gave a confused look in asking, "Genetically? No idea what you're taking about. I just have a keen obsessive brain like he does. And Social skills were a bit...tricky for me to learn. You can stop playing with your hair now, flirting doesn't really work on me when I know it's fake."

Candy stopped, "Great. 1St Isaac, now you."

Hand #2 began with James calling from under the gun with Ace-2-4-8, Jenny G. Folding 5-5-9-10, Phoenix calling with Ace-9-Queen-King, Candy folding the button with 2-4-7-10, Allan folding 3-3-7-9 and Thom checking the big blind with Ace-6-9-King.

Thom had the first draw. "1 card for me." changing the King of Spades in his hand for a 5 of clubs, making a 9-Badugi. James analyzed his hand and asked the Dealer "2 cards please." changing the 4 of Hearts and 8 of Clubs to 3 of Diamonds and 10 of Spades, Making a 10-Badugi. Phoenix had a made King-Badugi, so shook her head at the dealer which he correctly determined to mean that she stood pat.

"I'm sick of this standing pat equalling we all just check the hand down shit, hoping no one bets. I bet 150." declared Thom.

"I agree, and call." said James. Phoenix went into the tank for minute, realizing that even if Thom was bluffing, James wasn't. Her made King-Badugi was no good, "I fold." "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw phase began: Thom smiled and said, "Stand Pat."

James laughed, appreciating the humour in standing pat after criticizing not betting after someone stand pat. "I Stand pat too."

"I bet 300." announced Thom.

"Raise 300." said James. And the re-raising continued James was all-in. When the dealer asked if they needed another draw phase, they shook their heads in silence. Thom showed his 9-Badugi and James nodded in defeat as he showed his 10-Badugi. They shook hands in defeat, while Phoenix looked at the table in shock. "I knew. My King-Badugi was no good and I knew."

The rest of the table looked at her, they all knew that she wasn't lying.

"In my line of work, we call that a 'sick laydown'." said Allan.

"Saved you from elimination." replied Jenny G.

All told, Thom's pot was 14,648 (although he was a little disappointed that Phoenix folded. If she hadn't he'd be ahead of the entire tournament field). James left the table in silence.

An announcement came over the PA "Attention Aaronverse poker players, as there are now 36 of you still playing we will be breaking up table 7 and dispersing the players to other tables now as soon as this game is over. Thank You."

Hand #3 began with Phoenix folding King-Queen-7-5 from under the gun, Candy folded 10-2-8-8, Allan folded 4-10-Jack-King in the button, Thom called from the small blind with Ace-7-8-King while Jenny G. Checked her big blind option with Ace-2-10-King.

Thom took the 1st draw: "1 please." changing his 7 of Hearts for a 6 of Spades, making a King-Badugi. Jenny G. Whispered, "Just 2, please." changing the 2 and 10 of Spades for a 2 of Hearts and 6 of Clubs, also making a King-Badugi. Thom knocked the table, indicating a check. Jenny G. knocked the table as well. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw phase began: Thom announced, "Stand Pat." Jenny smiled and also said "Stand Pat." They checked again, stood pat again, and checked 1 more time.

"King-Badugi." said Thom as he showed.

"King-Badugi, guess the dealer needs to break the tie." replied Jenny G.

The dealer looked at both hands and announced, "Jenny G.'s King-6 Badugi beats Thom's King-8 Badugi." Jenny G. Made a slight "oooh" noise as she took in her pot of 300.

"Nice hand." said Thom with a smile.

"Thank you, I have a sudden urge to paint this table." replied Jenny G.

"Players are not allowed to re-decorate the casino or any individual part of the casino." stated the Dealer matter of factly. Jenny G. Sunk her head in slight depression.

Hand #4 began with Candy folding 5-6-3-9 from under the gun, Allan folding 6-3-6-King, Thom announcing "Raise to 300." while on the button with Ace-2-9-King, Jenny G. Folded 10-2-10-9 from the small blind and Phoenix said "Not worth defending." as she folded 7-4-Jack-4 in the big blind. Thom raked in his pot of 525, saying nothing.

Hand #5 began with Allan raising to 300 with 3-Jack-Ace-5 under the gun, Thom called with Ace-2-7-8, Jenny G. Folded 2-6-9-King on the button, Phoenix announced "Call." from the small blind with Ace-King-King-King and Candy quietly folded 6-6-8-4 in the big blind.

Phoenix got the 1st draw: "2 please." dumping her King of Spades and King of Hearts for a 5 of Diamonds and Queen of Hearts, making a Queen-Badugi. Allan held up 2 fingers, changing a Jack of Hearts and 5 of Clubs for a 2 of Spades and Queen of Diamonds, making a Queen-Badugi of his own. Thom whispered "And 2 for me." Changing his 8 of Diamonds and 7 of Hearts for a 3 of Spades and 4 of Clubs, a perfect 4-Badugi. Phoenix announced "Check." disliking her Queen-Badugi almost as much as her King-Badugi from 3 hands ago. Allan knocked the table, indicating a Check. Thom reached into his stack to make a bet, and Phoenix and Allan folded before his chips hit the centre of the table.

"I have no idea why I did that." said Phoenix.

"Neither do I." said Allan.

"I think I know why you both folded. A pity, I wanted action too." replied Thom as he showed his perfect 4-Badugi. He got a standing ovation from the table as well as all of the others as he added 1,050 to his stack.

"That hand was sick." said Jenny G. In between guffaws of laughter.

"Yeah. Completely amazing." replied Candy.

Hand #6 began with Thom folding 7-4-3-Queen from under the gun, Jenny G. announcing "Raise to 300." with Ace-2-8-Jack, Phoenix folding 7-2-Queen-3 from the button, Candy calling from the small blind with Ace-9-Jack-8 and Allan folding from the Big Blind with 6-3-9-5.

Jenny G. Took the first draw, "2 please." changing her 8 and Jack of Clubs for a 4 of Diamonds and 10 of Spades, making a 10-Badugi. Candy smiled, looked at the dealer and said "Just 1 for me, please." as she dumped her Jack of Spades for a King of Clubs, making a King-Badugi. Jenny G. Knocked the table, indicating a check. Candy followed suit. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw phase began: "I stand pat." announced Jenny G. "So do I." and they checked in short order. After another anti-climatic draw and betting phase, they showed their hands.

"10-Badugi." declared Jenny G.

"Take it." replied Candy as she mucked her hand. As Jenny G. Took in her pot of 1,050, the dealer announced "I have to deal out 1 card face up now to break this table and send you to new seats."

"Aww shit, I have to move again?" asked Candy.

"Wonder what table I'll get." pondered Allan out loud.

"I'll miss this table, especially now that I have chips." said Thom.

"I won't, most of my cards sucked balls." declared Phoenix.

"Would you rather have been knocked out like James?" asked Jenny G. Phoenix made a thoughtful nod at Jenny G. The kind of nod 1 gives when acknowledging that someone had a good point

The dealer dealt out the cards. Candy got a 4 of Hearts, Allan got the King of Spades, Thom got the 7 of Hearts, Jenny G. Got the 6 of Spades and Phoenix got the 2 of Spades. The dealer looked at the cards and declared "OK. Allan go to Table 1, Thom go to Table 2, Jenny G. Go to Table 3, Candy go to Table 5 and Phoenix go to Table 6." The players dispersed and travelled accordingly. The new table and seating arrangements that showed up on the screen looked like this:

Table 1: Isaac, Elizabeth, Laurie, Cindy, Damon, Allan

Table 2: Harley, Gregg, Fabio, Tara, Thom, Andrey

Table 3: Jenny G., Heather, David F., Dan, Courtney, Sherry

Table 4: Aaron L., Megan, Melinda, Buckethead, Angie, Tamara

Table 5: Laura B., Krystal, Candy, Mike, John, Ricky

Table 6: Phoenix, Julie, Kate, Joe, Ivy, Leila

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Thom 31,714 – Candy 30,025 – Jenny G. 29,100 – Allan 15,812 – Phoenix 14,463

Level 3, Game 5, Table 1 = 7 Card Stud. 25 Ante, 50 Bring-In, 150 Completion, 150-300 Limits. Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Laurie 33,787 – Elizabeth 30,144 – Isaac 28,175 – Damon 27,325 – Allan 15,812 – Cindy 14,844

Allan approached his new seat and noticed 2 very familiar faces. "Hi mom, hello sheriff Tong."

"Welcome aboard, my son." said Laurie with a grin that no human would try to take off.

"Well this table just got a whole lot more fun." said Isaac in a tone that was equal parts snarky and sarcastic.

"Why are you saying about someone from your own world, Isaac?" asked Cindy. Damon made a non-verbal gesture to Isaac to indicate that he would take the question: "Because on Aaronworld-1720 also known as the Vodka Western story, Allan is the local card shark."

"A shame that book is very hard to come by where I come from on account of the rampant literature censorship." remarked Elizabeth as Allan finally sat down.

"Oh that's right, there is a fear of some kinds of art in some parts of the clockpunk world. A Shame." remarked Allan

After everyone anted up, Hand #1 began with Cindy being the Bring-In bet with an exposed 2 of Clubs, Damon completing the bet to 150 with a 4-4-6, Allan folding of 3-7-5 of mixed suits, Isaac folding Queen-2-4, Elizabeth calling with 5-9-9, Laurie folding 8-Ace-2 and Cindy choosing not to defend her bring-in bet as she saw an Ace and a King to go with the 2.

The dealer dealt 4th street to both players: A 3 for Damon, a King for Elizabeth. Damon checked his low pair, Elizabeth checked her medium pair. The dealer nodded slightly, then dealt 5th street to each person: a 2 for Damon, a 6 for Elizabeth. Damon announced "Check." (not wanting his now inside straight draw to be expensive), Elizabeth nodded and patted the table gently to indicate a check of her own. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street to both players: an irrelevant Queen for Damon, an irrelevant Jack for Elizabeth. Damon knocked the table, Elizabeth announced "Check." The dealer patted the table twice and dealt the last card to each player face down: a second 3 for Damon, a second 6 for Elizabeth. Damon was not only mildly depressed that he didn't fill his inside straight, but that his 2 pair were too small to bet. He knocked the table, and was quite frankly shocked to see that Elizabeth didn't value bet her hand, even if she had nothing and wanted to bluff. "Time to show your cards, please." said the dealer.

"2 pair, 4's and 3's." said Damon.

"No good." said Elizabeth with a smile. "I have 9's and 6's."

Damon nodded as he mucked his cards and Elizabeth took in her pot of 500.

After everyone anted up, Hand #2 began with Allan being the Bring-In bet with an exposed 5 of Diamonds, Isaac folding King-7-6, Elizabeth completing the bet to 150 with 10-4-10, Laurie folding Jack-8-King, Cindy calling with 3-9-9, Damon folding 6-4-8 of mixed suits, while Allan announced "Screw, tradition. I'll be defending my Bring-In bet by calling the extra 100." after he saw a 3-card straight flush draw with his concealed 6 and 7 of Diamonds.

After the shock wore off for the dealer (and by extension, the other players), he dealt 4th street to all 3 players still in the hand: Allan caught the 4 of Diamonds (1 card away from his straight flush), Elizabeth caught a 3 of Spades, Cindy caught a Jack of Diamonds. Allan knew that his 2 suited and connecting cards would kill any potential action, so he checked. Elizabeth checked thinking that because she won the last hand that people would try to bully her out of this hand. Cindy checked as well as her pair of 9's were very vulnerable. The dealer dealt 5th street to each player: a 2 of Hearts for Allan, an Ace of Spades for Elizabeth and a 2 of Diamonds for Cindy. Allan announced "Check.", as did Elizabeth and eventually Cindy (who was contemplating a bluff but decided against it). "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street to all 3 players: A Queen of Clubs for Allan, an Ace of Hearts for Elizabeth and an 8 of Spades for Cindy. Allan knocked the table, so did Elizabeth, and after a moment or 2 of thought, so did Cindy. The dealer nodded and dealt the last card face down to the 3 of them: A 5 of Hearts for Allan (who just barely held back his groaning after missing a straight flush despite 3 chances to get it), a 7 of Spades for Elizabeth and a 5 of Clubs for Cindy. Allan announced "Check.", Elizabeth knocked the table 3 times, and Cindy essentially gave up the hand by checking in mid-exasperated sigh. "Time to show your cards, ladies and Allan."

"Pair of 5's, and way to single me out asshole!" said Allan at the dealer.

"2 pair again, this time Aces and 10's." said Elizabeth.

"Good enough for me." said Cindy as she mucked her hand. "All yours, robomom. Robomom? Where the hell did that come from?" Cindy asked as Elizabeth took in her pot of 600.

After everyone anted up, Hand #3 began with Damon being the Bring-In bet with an exposed 3 of Spades, Allan completing the bet to 150 with Jack-10-Ace of Diamonds, Isaac folding 5-3-9, Elizabeth folding 6 -Queen-Jack, Laurie folding 10-6-5, Cindy folding 7-4-King, Damon deciding not to defend his Bring-In bet by folding Queen-10-3 and Allan shrugging his shoulders in complete indifference as he took in his pot of 350, still a bit on tilt regarding the missed straight flush.

After everyone anted up, Hand #4 began with Allan being the Bring-In bet with an exposed 6 of Diamonds, Isaac completing the bet to 150 with Queen-Queen-King, Elizabeth folding 5-4-Ace, Laurie folding 8-King-Jack, Cindy looking down at the King-Jack-9 of Hearts and announcing "Call.", Damon folding King-3-10 and Allan looking down at 7-10 to go with his 6 and deciding not to pursue another potential straight by folding his Bring-In Bet.

The dealer dealt 4th street to the 2 players still in the hand: Cindy caught a 3 of Spades, Isaac caught a 2 of Spades. Cindy (like many others across the entire tournament), knew that Isaac has likely caught every bluff in the game so far so she just checked. Isaac knew Cindy was on a 3 card straight flush draw and (badly) hid his perverse pleasure at knowing that he had the Queen of Hearts as 1 of his hole cards. He checked, grinning. The dealer dealt 5th street to each player: A second 3 for Cindy, a 5 of Clubs for Isaac. Cindy checked again (that grin Isaac made on the last street scared her), as did Isaac (he knew he was in the lead but didn't want to pay off whatever draw the Cindy had in case she made off). "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street to each player: A 7 of Hearts for Cindy (She'll take a regular flush), An Ace of Hearts for Isaac (which spoiled Cindy's shot at the nut flush). Cindy checked (she was still behind and both of them knew it), Isaac checked (knowing that any Heart, 3, King, Jack, 9 or 7 would put her in the lead so he was mathematically behind despite having a better hand). The dealer nodded and dealt 7th street to both players face down: a 4 of Clubs for Cindy, and a second 5 for Isaac. Cindy checked (as her flush was busted) and Isaac checked (knowing he had the hand anyway and a bet would be pointless). "Time to show, guys." said the dealer.

"If you can beat a pair of 3's, it's yours." said Cindy as she turned her hand face up.

"My 5's beat that and my Queens beat that." said Isaac amidst the entire table laughing at his choice of words (including Cindy). He took his pot of 500 without saying anything else to anyone.

After everyone anted up, Hand #5 began with Laurie being the Bring-In bet with an exposed 3 of Clubs, Cindy completing the bet to 150 with 8-9-9, Damon folding 5-6-Jack, Allan calling with King-King-3, Isaac folding 5-8-10, Elizabeth folding Queen-Jack-Ace (having a sneaking suspicion that something big was going to happen and she would lose the hand if she got involved) and Laurie looking down at the Queen and Jack that went with her 3, making her not defend the Bring-in bet.

The dealer dealt 4th street to both players: A second 8 to Cindy, a meaningless 7 to Allan. Cindy checked her 2 pair (deciding to bet on 6th street regardless of how her hand strength changed), and Allan checked his pair of Kings. The dealer dealt 5th street: a useless 3 for Cindy, an even more useless 2 for Allan. "Check." announced Cindy (her 6th street betting decision unchanged). Allan knocked the table three times. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street: A 2 of Diamonds for Cindy, a 10 of Spades for Allan.

"300." opened Cindy.

"Raise 300." replied Allan.

And the re-raising continued until Cindy was All-in. "Please turn your hands face up and I will deal 7th street up to each of you."

Cindy showed her 2 pair 9's and 8's, Allan looked a bit dejected as he turned up his cards "I can still win with a King, 3, 7, 2, or a 10. Unless you catch a 9 or an 8 obviously."

The dealer nodded at Allan's assessment and dealt 7th street: a 10 for Cindy, a 6 for Allan. Cindy's pot was 14,219 altogether and Allan was down to 1,308 in chips.

"Way to cripple my son, you bitch." shouted Laurie.

"Mom, it's the name of the game." replied Allan in an effort of diplomacy.

"She was almost as pissed when Elizabeth knocked out Aaron's mom, I could tell." stated Cindy matter of factly.

"Laurie knocked out Lindsay? Even I didn't see that coming." interjected Isaac.

"It happened." said Elizabeth while nodding.

"Can we get back to the game, please?" asked Damon. They all agreed.

After everyone anted up, Hand #6 began with Damon being the Bring-in bet with an exposed 4 of Clubs, Allan completing the bet to 150 with 8-9-10 of mixed suits, Isaac calling with 2-3-4 of Spades, Elizabeth folding Queen-7-King, Laurie folding 4-7-King, Cindy looking down at 3-Jack-Ace and announcing "Fold. The dorkriver can have my sloppy seconds. Oh right, Isaac-1720 isn't called the dorkriver, the Isaac in the detective story is." and Damon mucking his 2-King-4 in complete disgust.

The dealer dealt 4th street to the 2 players still in the hand: Allan caught a 5, Isaac paired his 2.

"150." opened Allan.

"On tilt I see. I raise 150." replied Isaac.

"I am not. Re-raise 150." shouted Allan.

"Re-re-raise 150. I believe that's the max number of raises in this stage and I do not believe you." declared Isaac.

"Call and your beliefs do not matter." said Allan softly.

The dealer dealt 5th street: a 4 for Allan, a second 3 for Isaac. The betting went exactly the same as 4th street. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street: a 7 for Allan, a third 2 for Isaac.

"All-in for my last 233 which makes the last dealer announcement a moot point." opened Allan.

"Call and I agree as even if you had checked I would've put you all-in WITH MY FULL HOUSE."

The gasps that were heard across the room were more over the usually stoic Isaac Tong showing some anger. Allan turned his hand face up before the dealer asked him to. "Not even my open-ended straight draw can save me." said Allan as the dealer dealt the rather pointless 7th street to both players: A 6 for Allan (which made him the straight that he still lost with), and a King for Isaac that was completely unnecessary. Allan shook Isaac's hand, feeling guilt.

"Sorry I made you lose your cool, Sheriff." said Allan.

"No worries, I took you out in the end. Supremacy of the Aaronverse shall be mine and I have vays of making you tap as you will all be my buttweasels. Where the hell did all that come from." replied Isaac as he put his pot of 1,633 into his stack.

"You 3 are on my list." declared Laurie while pointing at Elizabeth, Cindy and Isaac.

"Bring it." said Cindy, expecting a catfight.

"Not the first time in my life I've heard that." replied Elizabeth, possibly referring to a bad employer at a flightport she worked at.

"Fora taking the last of your son's money? Why am I not surprised?" asked Isaac.

"My hovercraft is full of eels. Sorry, but nothing else I could think of made any sense so I said the goofiest thing that popped into my mind. No idea where it came from either." explained Damon.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Laurie 33,587 – Elizabeth 30,794 – Isaac 30,088 – Cindy 28,953 – Damon 26,925

Level 3, Game 6, Table 2 = No-limit 2-7 lowball draw. 50-75 blinds. Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Thom 31,714 – Fabio 30,775 – Andrey 29,675 – Gregg 15,775 – Tara 15,700 – Harley 13,650

Hand #1 began with Tara folding 3-4-5-8-7 from under the gun, Thom announcing "Raise. 225 total." with 7-2-King-King-8, Andrey folded Ace-King-Ace-3-Ace, Harley folded 3-9-Queen-Queen-6 from the button, Gregg calling from the small blind with 10-2-5-Ace-Jack and Fabio folding 3-Jack-8-8-7 in the big blind.

Gregg had the first draw: "3 please." changing his 10, Ace and Jack for a 3, 8 and Jack. Thom looked at the dealer straight in the eyes and asked "2 for me, please." as he was happy to dump his pair of Kings (but not happy that he made 2 pairs of 8's and 7's in a lowball game). Gregg reluctantly checked (as his Jack-low was OK, but a bit rough), and Thom enthusiastically checked.

"Jack-Low." announced Gregg as he showed his cards.

"Take it. Then again, a pair would've beat me." replied Thom. He even showed his cards, which caused a strange reaction of laughter and pity. Gregg raked in his pot of 525 with his eyes still wide that he essentially won a hand by default.

Hand #2 began with Thom folding 7-6-Ace-Jack-King from under the gun, Andrey folded 3-5-Jack-10-9, Harley silently raising to 225 with Ace-Jack-2-9-3, Gregg folding King-King-7-Ace-10 on the button, and Fabio going into the tank in the small blind with 2-8-Queen-2-8, thinking "I love having 2 deuces to start as I can fold 1 of them knowing it'll be that much more unlikely that anyone else has a 2. However, my next lowest card is an 8 so I have a lot of low cards to catch up on." and eventually folding. Tara impatiently folded at the same time as Fabio in her big blind with 6-10-Ace-3-8.

"That was a bit hasty of you." stated Fabio while looking at Tara.

"What?" she replied. "My hand sucked balls." as Harley took in his pot of 350.

Hand #3 began with Andrey folding Jack-Ace-Jack-Queen-King under the gun, Harley announcing "I'll call the 75." with 10-7-10-2-Ace, Gregg folding 9-4-6-King-Queen, Fabio laughing so hard that he almost pissed his pants as he folded 3-3-10-3-4 on the button (getting dealt 3 of a kind in a lowball game is just embarrassing to anyone), Tara folding 9-7-4-Jack-8 in the small blind and Thom checking his big blind option with King-8-6-Ace-2.

Thom had the first draw: "2, please." changing his King and Ace for a Queen and a 5. Harley stared at his hand for a moment and muttered "3 for me, please." as he changed his pair of 10's and Ace for a 3,8 and a 5. Thom knocked the table in a way that indicated to Harley that he had the hand won regardless of any action on his part. He checked, just so he could show his great hand.

"Queen-low" showed Thom.

"8-low" replied Harley as he took in his pot of 200. Thom nodded and mucked.

"Nice hand." offered Andrey.

Hand #4 began with Harley silently raising to 225 from under the gun with 2-10-10-2-3, Gregg folding 3-6-4-4-King, Fabio folding 7-8-Ace-Ace-9, Tara calling on the button with Ace-Queen-2-4-8, Thom calling on the small blind with 6-10-2-5-7, and Andrey electing not to defend his big blind by folding 3-6-3-9-6.

Thom had the first draw: "1 please." as he discard his 10 for a King. "I'll take 3, please." replied Harley as he dumped his pair of 10's and 2 and had to hold back anger as he received a pair of 5's and a Queen. Tara silently passed along 2 cards, her Queen and Ace for a 7 and 9. Thom checked his King, Harley checked his pair of 5's, and Tara actually checked her good hand (thinking that 1 of them may be slow-playing a better one).

"King-low." showed Thom.

"Beats my pair of 5's." said Harley with a shrug.

"My rough 9-low wins? Odd." asked Tara, who was happy for a pot of 750 either way.

Hand #5 began with Gregg announcing "Raise, 225 total." 2-5-10-Jack-10 under the gun, Fabio folding 3-Jack-9-5-King, Tara calling with 2-10-6-3-9, Thom folding 4-7-7-10-9 on the button, Andrey folding 5-Queen-8-9-7 on the small blind and Harley laughing hysterically as he folded Ace-Jack-8-8-Ace in the big blind.

Gregg had the 1st draw: "3 please." changing his pair of 10's and Jack for a 2, 6 and a Jack. Tara was going back and forth as to whether to stand pat or break her 10-low. Eventually, she decided to break her 10-low. "I'll take 1, please." dumping her 10 for a 7. Gregg knocked the table, indicating a check. Tara determined that the hand was hers either way, so she checked.

"If you don't have a pair, you win." shared Gregg as he shared his cards, sad that Ace-Low would be enough to beat him.

"I quite clearly, do not." said Tara in a bad attempt at a British accent as she showed her 9-low and took in her pot of 575.

Hand #6 began with Fabio folded 5-3-Ace-4-10 from under the gun, Tara announcing "Raise, 225 total." with 6-6-Jack-2-Ace, Thom folding 3-9-Queen-8-7, Andrey folding 4-10-3-Queen-10 on the button, Harley announcing "Re-raise, 675 total." with 2-Jack-Queen-4-7 in the small blind which made Gregg folding 2-9-2-King-Jack much easier in the big blind.

Harley held up 2 fingers, changing a Jack and Queen for a 5 and Ace. Tara announced "3 please." dumping her 6, Jack and Ace for a 3,9 and a King. Harley looked at his chip stack and shoved in all of his chips, then turned to the dealer and said "Don't bother counting, it's 12,825 total." The dealer still checked (as he was required to do so), turned to Tara and nodded (vouching for Harley's count). Tara went into the tank, thinking "Can my King-low be enough to win? I'll be crippled if I call and he wins. Then again, I could knock him out and double up." After the dealer called a clock, Tara closed her eyes and called.

"Ace-low." showed Harley.

Tara opened her eyes to see if Harley was joking or not, she showed her King-low in a flash and added a total of 13,725 to her stack. Harley was stunned that he was eliminated and that Tara could make that risky a call, but nodded in acceptance.

"Best of luck to you, Tara."

"Farewell Harley." replied Tara.

"That was a sick call, Tara." offered Andrey.

"I don't think I could ever make a call that marginal." said Thom, with his eyes wide open.

"Each of us will have to do it at least once to win this." stated Fabio, matter of factly.

"Or twice." added Gregg.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Thom 31,189 – Fabio 30,650 – Tara 29,950 – Andrey 29,550 – Gregg 15,775

Level 3, Game 7, Table 3 = Limit Omaha High-low 8 or better. 75-150 blinds, 150-300 limits. Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Jenny G. 29,300 – Heather 29,187 – David F 28,775 – Courtney 16,475 – Sherry 15,463 – Dan 13,850

Hand #1 began with Dan raising from under the gun with Ace-2-4-King, Courtney folding 9-8-Jack-Ace, Sherry calling with Ace-10-7-2, Jenny G. Folding 9-3-10-5 on the button, Heather folding Jack-Ace-7-6 in the small blind and David F. Folding Queen-Queen-King-3 in the big blind.

The flop came 8-King-6: Dan checked his top pair and low draw, Sherry checked her gut shot straight draw. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt the turn card which came as the 10 of Diamonds. Dan knocked the table, indicating a check. Sherry liked pairing her 10 but knew that this was not a high-only game, so she checked behind him. When the Queen of Spades hit the river, the dealer remarked "No low is possible, this will be scored as a high-only hand."

"No flush draw either, I check." replied Dan.

"Check, I think you have it Dan." said Sherry nervously.

"I hit the King, but that's it." said Dan as he showed his hand.

"Good enough to beat me." replied Sherry as she showed her 10 and folded the rest. Dan took in his pot of 825 and shouted "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go!"

Hand #2 began with Courtney raising to 300 from under the gun with Ace-2-6-8, Sherry folding 2-10-5-7, Jenny G. folding 3-Queen-3-4, Heather folding 5-8-7-2 on the button, David F. Folding Jack-5-6-9 in the small blind and Dan folding 7-4-10-10 in the big blind. Courtney just shrugged as she took in her pot of 525, only saying "Maybe my luck is changing for the better."

Hand #3 began with Sherry folding 9-6-6-9 under the gun, Jenny G. Folding Jack-Jack-5-Ace, Heather folding 10-4-7-3, David F. Folding 5-7-9-King on the button, and Dan looking down at 8-King-Jack-Queen in the small blind and laughing, "3 high cards and a medium card unpaired in a high-low split game. Not even worth a blind steal. You get a walk, Courtney."

"Woohoo." shouted Courtney as Dan shuffled his small blind over to her. She decided to peak at her big blind walk hand...

...it was 2-3-3-5, 1 of the best hands in the game that does not have an Ace in it. Courtney was mildly disappointed, saying "Wow, I would've defended my blind even if you had raised." as she took in her pot of 125.

Hand #4 began with Jenny G. Folding 4-Queen-3-4 under the gun, Heather announcing "Raise, 300 total." with 10-3-2-5, David F. Folding 3-7-King-10, Dan folding 8-King-Queen-Ace on the button, Courtney calling from the small blind with 2-8-Jack-3 and Sherry pitching Jack-Jack-8-5 in the big blind.

The flop came 8-9-Jack of 3 different suits. Heather checked (hoping for consecutive low cards that were unpaired with 1 of them being an Ace), as did Courtney (suspecting a high-card heavy board by the time the hand was over). "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt a King of Hearts on the turn. "No low is possible, this is a high-only hand." Heather checked (giving up the hand), Courtney checked (terrified of all of the straight draws on the board). The dealer patted the table 3 times and dealt an Ace of Spades on the river. Heather checked (no change in her giving up the hand), Courtney announced "Check." (even more terrified at the possible straights).

"Any pair and it's yours." declared Heather as she showed her cards.

"My 2 pairs won with all of those draws on board? Weird." thought Courtney out loud as she raked in her pot of 750.

Hand #5 began with Heather folding 8-6-9-Queen from under the gun, David F. Folding 5-2-Jack-7, Dan folding 5-Queen-9-2, Courtney folding 9-Queen-King-Ace on the button, Sherry announcing "Raise, 300 total." in the small blind with 8-King-Ace-3 and Jenny G. Folding 2-7-6-5 in the big blind, muttering "Nice blind steal." at Sherry as she took her pot of 450.

"No it wasn't." replied Sherry as she showed her hand.

"Wow, that's sick." said David F. In shock

"Not surprised. I'm the only pirate in the Aaronverse." declared Heather.

The entire table started laughing, but none were laughing harder than Sherry.

"What?" asked Heather, slightly upset. "Is it something I said?"

"You didn't even read the book about my Aaronworld, did you?" asked Sherry.

"The intrigue story? I have it on order but only know a little bit about it. Books are very hard to get out of East Ontario, especially ones written by Aaron." replied Heather.

"There's an entire stoppage in the 1st chapter where my Aaronworld's version of you explains that you call Aaron 'Mr. Pirate' because the first 3 letters of his name spell..."

"...AAAAAARRRRRRRRR!" finished by the rest of the table.

"Huh...why would I call Aaron Mr. Pirate?" asked Heather out loud.

Hand #6 began with David F. Folding 7-2-Jack-Queen under the gun, Dan announcing "Raise, 300 total." with 10-Ace-4-7, Courtney calling with Ace-2-9-10, Sherry folding 5-7-2-Queen on the button, Jenny G. Folding Jack-3-9-King in the small blind and Heather folding 4-Queen-6-5 in the big blind, still wondering why she would call someone a pirate who (to her), clearly wasn't one.

The flop came Jack-7-4 of 3 different suits. Dan slid 150 into the middle of the table with 2 pairs, Courtney smooth called with the nut low draw and a gut-shot straight draw. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt an 8 of Hearts on the turn.

"300." announced Dan.

Courtney was in total disbelief. She had the low half of the pot locked and the best possible straight as her high hand. She thought silently: "I should call to set up a trap on the river, but this is my best hand of the game so far. I'm going to raise now to get what I can out of Dan." she re-raised 300 without a word spoken. Dan re-re-raised 300. Courtney could not have asked for any more action as the raising continued until Dan was all-in. "You must show first, Mr. Dotson." said the dealer.

"2 pairs 7's and 4's for high and an Ace-4 low draw." announced Dan.

"Jack-high straight for high, 8-7-4-2-Ace low." said Courtney with a radiant smile.

"Oh wow, If Courtney dodges a 7,4 and 2 on the river she locks up both halves of the pot and Dan is out." said Jenny G.

A second 8 came on the river. Dan nodded in silent acceptance, then walked over to Courtney and shook her hand "Your luck really did change, best of luck to you Courtney."

"Thank you sir, you are still the ringleader." replied Courtney.

"Bye Dan." said David F.

"Take care, Mr. Dotson." said Jenny G.

"Amazing hand." said Sherry

"Amazing rotation." replied Heather.

"Thank you everyone, now if only I can find that cute blonde I bumped into when we first got here." said Dan with excitement as he exited the tournament. It couldn't be more obvious that he was referring to Laura X.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Courtney 31,825 – Jenny G. 29,075 – Heather 28,662 – David F. 28,550 – Sherry 15,163

Level 3, Game 8, Table 4 = Pot-Limit Omaha High. 50-75 limits, Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Aaron L. 29,475 – Melinda 29,050 – Angie 16,724 – Tamara 15,525 – Buckethead 14,624 – Megan 12,400

Hand #1 began with Buckethead making a bunch of gestures with his hands indicating that he was trying to figure out how much the pot-sized raise would be. In the end, he gave up and just called with 9-9-5-2 from under the gun, Angie folded 5-9-Ace-6, Tamara folded 3-8-10-Ace, Aaron L. folding Queen-9-5-10 on the button, Megan folding 2-7-2-Ace in the small blind and Melinda checking in the big blind with Jack-King-Jack-7.

The flop came King-Jack-4 of 3 different suits. Melinda was stunned about flopping the middle set, but knew how volatile Pot-Limit Omaha was in terms of hand strengths changing a lot more often than most games. So she knocked the table, indicating a check. Buckethead stared at the dealer and nodded (supposedly he and the dealer worked out a deal at an earlier point in the tournament where he could just nod at him and that would be a check in the dealer's eyes). The turn card came as the 8 of Diamonds, both players checked again. When the 4 of Spades hit the river, Melinda knew that she had the hand locked. She checked anyways, knowing full well that Buckethead would value bet if he hit quad 4's or had pocket Kings as 2 of his hole cards. Buckethead nodded at the dealer.

"Full house, Jacks over 4's. If you have the 4 of a kind or the Kings, it's yours."

Buckethead merely shook his head no and folded. Melinda raked in her pot of 200.

Hand #2 began with Angie folding King-4-2-Jack from under the gun, Tamara announcing "Raise pot." and slid 275 into the middle of the table with Ace-Jack-10-3, Aaron L. Folding 9-King-6-7, Megan folding Queen-6-7-8 on the button, Melinda folding Ace-9-5-10 from the small blind, and Buckethead folding 2-9-5-Queen from the big blind. Tamara smiled as she took in her pot of 400.

"Nice blind steal." commented Aaron L.

"Thank you, I've been card dead for a while so I knew I could pull it off. Ironically my hand would've been great in Omaha 8 or better" replied Tamara.

Hand #3 began with Tamara folding Ace-6-3-2 from under the gun, Aaron L. Folding 9-Queen-2-4, Megan folding 6-9-2-3, Melinda looking down at King-10-10-Jack on the button and announcing "Raise pot." and sliding 275 into the pot. Buckethead folding Ace-10-5-3 in the small blind, and Angie folding in the big blind with Queen-5-6-King. Melinda shrugged and took in her pot of 400.

"I had a hand worth playing too." whined Melinda.

"No one else even had a pair, and I don't know how I know." replied Megan.

Hand #4 began with Aaron L. Folding 6-King-Ace-7 from under the gun, Megan looking down at 5-7-8-5 and thinking about calling, but ultimately folded thinking that her hand was too weak. Melinda folded 9-Ace-10-2, Buckethead folded 6-3-4-8 on the button, Angie announced "Raise pot" in the small blind with Queen-2-9-Queen and Tamara folded Jack-7-9-4 in the big blind before Angie finished putting her raise into the pot. Angie took in a pot of 300.

"Well that sucked. I wanted action, dammit." said Angie, no one could tell if she was being sincere or not.

Hand #5 began with Megan announcing "Raise pot." from under the gun with 10-10-Jack-3. Melinda folding King-6-7-2, Buckethead folding 3-King-Jack-5, Angie folding 2-6-King-Queen on the button, Tamara asking out loud "This is the second time, Why couldn't I get this hand in Omaha 8 or better?" while folding Ace-5-4-2 in the small blind, and Aaron L. Folding 8-9-6-Queen in the big blind. Megan took in her pot of 400 with a grin.

Hand #6 began with Melinda folding 5-King-5-2 from under the gun, Buckethead folding 9-7-Ace-8, Angie announcing "Call" with Ace-King-10-10, Tamara folding 6-Ace-2-2 on the button, Aaron L. Folding Jack-Queen-6-4 in the small blind and Megan checking with the 7-8-9-10 wrap in the big blind.

The flop came 2 of Spades, 9 of Hearts, 6 of Spades. Megan announced "Bet pot." putting 200 into the pot with her open-ended straight draw. Angie looked at her hand again and noticed that her Ace and King were both Spades, she elected to call with her nut-flush draw. The dealer patted the table twice and dealt a 5 of Spades on the turn. Megan non-verbally bet the pot again (400), Angie raised the pot (1600) with her made flush, and the re-raising continued until Megan was all-in. The dealer said "OK., time to show your hands, ladies."

Megan showed first "9-high straight."

Angie grinned, "Ace-high flush."

The dealer looked at both hands and announced "Megan can still win if a 9 of Spades or a 4 of Spades comes on the river as she has an open-ended straight flush draw."

It was close, the Queen of Spades, but Megan was eliminated. Angie raked in her pot of 13,400 while Megan said her goodbyes

"Great hand, Angie." said Megan, gracious in defeat.

"It was, sorry I had to knock you out." replied Angie in a way where it was obvious to Megan that she was lying through her teeth.

Buckethead began playing the closest thing that his guitar could come to making a didgeridoo sound. Megan smiled, silently appreciating his efforts to play something close to her home culture.

"Take care, Megan." said Melinda.

"Bye Megan." said Aaron L.

"I'll do my best to win this." said Tamara, the only other person at the table from the same world that Megan belonged to. Megan made 1 last wave and then left the tournament, impressed with herself that she didn't fart.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Aaron L. 29,350 – Melinda 29,250 – Angie 29,249 – Tamara 15,525 – Buckethead 14,424

Level 3, Game 9, Table 5 = Limit 2-7 triple draw lowball. 50-75 blinds, Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: John 30,775 – Candy 30,100 – Ricky 29,738 – Mike 25,949 – Krystal 16,788 – Laura B. 15,925

Hand #1 began with Mike raising to 150 from under the gun with 7-2-8-Ace-4, John folding 8-3-7-9-3, Ricky folding Queen-6-5-10-King, Laura B. calling on the button with Queen-4-2-5-5, Krystal calling in the small blind with 2-Queen-4-3-4 and Candy folding Queen-9-6-10-6.

Krystal had the 1st draw: "I'll take 2 please." changing her Queen and 4 for a Jack and an Ace.

"Just 1 for me." replied Mike. Trading his Ace for...another Ace. Diamonds instead of Spades.

Laura B. had a bit of blurry vision, but it passed. "2, please." changing her Queen and 5 for a 5 and an 8.

"I check." opened Krystal, hating her Ace.

"Check." replied Mike, hating that his draw had no effect on his hand.

"Check." sighed Laura B. While she was busy, she had a brief vision of 1 of the inter-dimensional beings killing a friend of hers and she couldn't quite shake it.,,or even make out which friend it was, exactly.

"Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw commenced: "2 more, please." opened Krystal. Changing the Jack and Ace for a 2 and 3 (making 2 pairs that she did not want at all).

"1 more for me." answered Mike. Changing an Ace for a 9 (making a respectable 9-low).

"And I'll take 1 as well, please." said Laura B. Changing her extra 5 for a Jack.

Krystal knocked the table, hoping that 1 of the other 2 would bet their hand so that she could mercifully fold.

"Check." answered Mike. He was buying time in order to decide if he should break his 9 or not.

"Check." said Laura B. Who disliked her Jack-low.

The final draw began: "2, again please." opened Krystal. Getting rid of her extra 2 and 3 for a 10 and a King, making a King-Low.

"I Stand pat." announced Mike, thinking he could check his way to victory with his 9-low.

"1 more for me, please." whispered Laura B. Changing her Jack of Hearts for a Jack of Clubs, making her Jack-low.

"Check." opened Krystal. Again hoping for someone else to bet, if only on a bluff.

"Check." replied Mike who noticed that the looks on the others' faces suggested that he could not get value for his hand.

"Check." whispered Laura B.

"Time to show." said the dealer.

"King-Low." showed Krystal

"9-low." replied Mike.

"Take it. I have a Jack-low, it's all yours." answered Laura B. Mike took in his pot of 525 with pride.

Hand #2 began with John folding 10-10-Queen-King-7 from under the gun, Ricky folded 7-3-10-3-Jack, Laura B. Laughing at 4-King-4-4-9 as she folded it, Krystal raising to 150 on the button with 2-8-6-Queen-8, Candy calling from the small blind with 2-King-5-7-5 and Mike reluctantly folding Ace-2-Ace-8-King in the big blind.

Candy had the first draw: "2, please." changing her 5 and a King for a 10 and an Ace.

Krystal held up 2 fingers to the dealer, changing her Queen and 8 for a Jack and 6.

Candy knocked the table to check, as her hand worsened with the draw. Krystal did the same even though she slightly improved.

"Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw commenced: Candy announced, "2, and may I please have an espresso?"

"Oh that's just we need, the flame with more caffeine." chimed in Mike as Candy changed her 10 and Ace for a Queen and 6.

"2 for me please, no espresso." replied Krystal. Dumping her Jack and 6 for a 5 and 9 amidst a couple of giggles from the others at the table who thought she was making fun of Candy.

"Check." said Candy who looked around to see where her espresso would be coming from.

"Good lord girl, don't you have enough energy as it is?" asked Ricky.

"No, no she doesn't" answered John, who remembered his world's Candy quite fondly.

The final draw phase began: "Just 1 for me this time." opened Candy as she changed her Queen for a Jack to make a Jack-low. Krystal shook her head at the dealer, electing to Stand Pat with her 9-low.

"Check." said Candy, distracted as she was trying to make space for her forthcoming espresso.

"Check." replied Krystal, unsure if she had the hand or not.

"Time to show, ladies." remarked the dealer.

"Jack-low, and yay my Espresso is here." said Candy who now didn't care if she won or lost the hand.

"9-low." showed Krystal, happy to add 375 to her stack.

Hand #3 began with Ricky raising to 150 from under the gun with 2-Ace-4-Queen-Ace, Laura B. Folding King-10-Jack-King-7, Krystal reluctantly folding 10-2-Queen-8-2, Candy calling on the button with 6-5-4-Queen-2, Mike folding 7-3-5-3-Ace in the small blind and John folding 3-8-4-5-Jack in the big blind.

Ricky had the first draw: "3 for me, please." dumping his Queen and pair of Aces for a 9 and a pair of 8's. Candy slid 1 card to the dealer to change as she took her first sip of espresso. It was a Queen, and she got a Jack in return.

"I check." opened Ricky, hating his pair despite having improved on his hand.

"Mmmm, this espresso is amazing despite the fact that it's not real and I'm incapable of thirst in a pocket universe...oh, and I check." replied Candy, eventually.

"Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw commenced: "Just 1 this time, please." opened Ricky who dumped his spare 8 for a 3. "1 more, please." replied Candy who changed her Jack for a 6. Ricky knocked the table, indicating a check despite having a pat 9-low. Candy did the same, hating the pair of 6's that she had.

The final draw commenced: Ricky looked at the dealer and shook his head, the Dealer nodded, accepting that as standing pat. Candy took another sip of Espresso, "Mmmm, 1 please." dumping her extra 6 for a Queen. Making her the exact hand that she had to start with. "Time to show." said the dealer.

"9-low." showed Ricky

"Good enough to beat me." said Candy while mucking her cards and taking another sip of her espresso. Ricky took his pot of 425 and tipped his hat to the dealer.

Hand #4 began with Laura B. calling 75 with 2-4-Queen-6-3 from under the gun, Krystal folding 8-3-10-Ace-Jack, Candy folding 3-8-9-9-8, Mike calling on the button with 5-9-King-Queen-2, John folding Jack-Queen-Ace-3-5 in the small blind, and Ricky checking in the big blind with 5-6-Ace-2-8.

Ricky had the first draw: "Just 1, sir." changing his Ace for a King.

"1 for me too, please." replied Laura B. Who trade her Queen for a 4.

"2 for me, please." said Mike. Changing his King and Queen for a 2 and 4.

Ricky knocked the table with his King-low, as did Laura B. With a pair of 4's, Mike checked as well, hating his extra 2.

"Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw commenced: Ricky put 1 more card in the middle of the table, changing a King of Spades for a King of Hearts. Laura B. slid her extra 4 into the middle, and was mixed about seeing the Ace that returned. Mike slid his extra 2 into the middle, getting back a 10. Ricky knocked the table with his King-low draw, Laura B. Knocked the table with her Ace-low, Mike went into the tank but eventually announced "Check." with his 10-low.

The final draw commenced: Ricky slid his King into the middle and got a Queen, making a Queen-low. Laura B. Dumped her Ace for a 10, making a 10-low. Mike had a sinking feeling that he needed to break his 10-low to win, so he announced "1 please." and catching a 9-low.

"Time to show." announced the dealer.

"Queen-low." showed Ricky.

"10-low." replied Laura B.

"9-low." said Mike with a grin as he took his pot of 275.

"Good hustle." remarked Candy

Hand #5 began with Krystal calling 75 from under the gun with 2-3-King-5-King, Candy reluctantly folding 8-10-Jack-2-9, Mike folding 6-3-6-4-Jack, John folding on the button with 5-5-3-9-9, Ricky folding 4-7-10-8-5 in the small blind and Laura B. Checking in the big blind with 2-Ace-Ace-Queen-4.

Laura B. Took the 1st draw "3, please." changing her pair of Aces and Queen for an 8, King and 7. Krystal silently ditched the pair of Kings for a 2 and Queen. Laura B. Bet 150, Krystal called. "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as the 2nd draw commenced: Laura B. changed her King for a 6, Krystal changed her 2 and Queen for an 8 and a Queen. Laura B. Bet 300, Krystal called. Laura B. announced "I stand pat." which scared Krystal but she slid her Queen into the middle of the table and was pleased at the 4 that came her way. Laura B. Bet 300, Krystal raised 300, and the raising continued until Laura B. Was all-in. "Time to show, ladies."

"8-7 low." showed Laura B.

"No good, I have 8-5 low." showed Krystal.

The dealer stared at Krystal's hand and announced "Laura B. Is eliminated."

Laura B. Stood up and said "Good luck Krystal, bye everyone."

"Bye." said Candy.

"Later." said Ricky

"See ya, Laura." said Mike

"Toodle-ooo" said John.

They politely waved as Laura B. Left and Krystal raked in 15,625. 4 of the other 5 at the table were in some way connected to storage across the Aaronverse, making Laura B. And Krystal relative strangers to them.

"The small blind is dead, only the big blind is required to post." declared the dealer as he dealt Hand #6. Candy folded 4-Ace-King-Ace-4 from under the gun, Mike folded 7-7-King-6-9, John folded 3-8-10-3-Queen, Ricky folded King-King-Jack-6-6 on the button and Krystal needing a second to realize that she got to take back her big blind in a walk despite having 2-9-9-Ace-2.

End of Rotation stacks for the table: Krystal 32,613 – John 30,650 – Ricky 29,888 – Candy 29,725 – Mike 26,419

Level 3, Game 10, Table 6 = Seven-Card stud 8 or better. 25 Ante, 50 Bring-in, 150 completion, 150-300 limits. Beginning of Rotation stacks for the table: Leila 30,533 – Joe 27,350 – Julie 16,812 – Ivy 15,975 – Phoenix 14,013 – Kate 13,800

After everyone anted up, Hand #1 began with Joe being the bring-in bet of 50 with an exposed 3, Ivy folding 9-Jack-Ace, Leila folding 10-5-7, Phoenix folding Jack-Ace-Queen, Julie completing the bet to 150 with 5-5-9, Kate folding 8-10-4 and Joe electing to defend his bring-in bet with 4-7-3.

The dealer dealt 4th street face up to both players: A 6 for Julie, A King for Joe. Julie announced "Check" (as her hand was high only), Joe knocked the table silently (as he caught a bad card and Julie knew it. The dealer dealt 5th street face up: A 3 for Julie, A 2 for Joe. Julie knocked the table (having not really improved), as did Joe (who now had a decent, but not great low draw). "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street face up to each player: A 10 for Julie, a second 2 for Joe. Julie knocked the table (as she no longer qualified for the low half of the pot), Joe announced "Check" (knowing full well that he was behind on both halves). The dealer dealt the final card to each player face down: A second 9 for Julie, a 10 for Joe. Julie knocked the table, as did Joe. "Time to show." proclaimed the dealer.

"2 pairs, 9's and 5's. I don't qualify for a low hand so if you have 1 you get the low half by default." showed Julie.

"Take it. I have no low and just a pair of 2's for the high." replied Joe. Julie smiled as she raked in her pot of 450.

After everyone anted up, Hand #2 began with Leila being the bring-in bet with an exposed 7, Phoenix folding 4-Jack-8, Julie folding 7-3-Queen, Kate completed the bet to 150 with Jack-4-Ace, Joe folding 6-10-9 (noting that Kate had been playing very tight as of late and didn't want to mess with her), Ivy folding 2-8-King and Leila shaking her head before folding 3-King-7. Kate shrugged, taking in her pot of 350.

"Nice ante steal. The lioness knows you had nothing." said Leila while giggling.

"The saloon girl doesn't give a fuck what the lioness knows." replied Kate.

"The musician is going to snap you off." said Phoenix.

"Ladies, ladies, ladies, can't we all just get along?" asked Ivy.

"Not with supremacy of the Aaronverse on the line." answered Julie.

"Indeed, may the best legend win." finished Joe.

After everyone anted up, Hand #3 began with Ivy being the bring-in bet with an exposed 4 of Clubs, Leila folding 10-Jack-King, Phoenix completing the bet of 150 with 6-7-7, Julie folding Ace-Queen-6, Kate calling 150 with 9-8-8 (although as pissed at Phoenix as she was, she likely would've called with any 3 cards), Joe folding King-2-Ace and Ivy defending his bring-in bet with 7-3-4.

The dealer dealt 4th street face up to all 3 players: A 5 for Ivy (making a gut-shot straight draw as well as a low draw), A 10 for Phoenix (no help), and a Queen for Kate (also no help and she had no low draw anymore).

"Check." said Ivy.

"Check." replied Phoenix.

Kate just knocked the table, staring daggers at Phoenix as the dealer dealt 5th street face up to each player: A Queen for Ivy (no help), a third 7 for Phoenix (which gave her a nice high hand but eliminated her chance for a low hand) and a second 9 for Kate (which gave her a nice high hand of her own). Ivy knocked the table, indicating a check (in an effort to get another free crack at the straight), Phoenix announced "Check." (as she liked having a low when she bets), and Kate knocked the table again (she also liked having a low when she bet).

"Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street face up to each player: A second 3 for Ivy, a second 6 for Phoenix (making her a full house) and a meaningless 4 for Kate. Ivy knocked the table 1 more time. Phoenix looked at the table felt, declaring "I bet 300, I dare either 1 of you to call me." Kate smiled and raised to 600 silently. Ivy just shook his head "Too rich for my blood." as he folded his busted straight. The raising continued (in a way that may have resembled a cat fight) until Kate was all-in. "Time to show ladies, I'll deal 7th street face up."

"Full house, 7's over 6's. No low" showed Phoenix.

"2 pair, 9's and 8's. Also no low. I guess I need a 9 or 8 to win." replied Kate.

The dealer nodded to show that Kate was right, patted the table twice and dealt the last card to each girl: An 8 for Phoenix, A 3 for Kate.

"I told you that I would snap you off." said Phoenix with a smile.

"So you did." replied Kate while staring a little too low. "Great hand, good luck Phoenix."

"Thank you, Kate. But my face is up here."

"Bye Phoenix, the lioness will miss you." said Leila, slightly sad.

"1 less redhead to make me dizzy." thought Joe out loud.

"I'm with Joe, I love the eye candy at this table." replied Ivy.

"You still have me, boys." interjected Julie as Kate took her leave, no one listened to her. Phoenix's pot was 14,375 altogether.

"Attention Aaronverse poker players, as there are now 30 of you still playing we will be breaking up table 6 and dispersing the players to other tables now as soon as this game is over. Thank You."

After everyone anted up, Hand #4 began with Julie being the bring-in bet with an exposed 3, Joe completing the bet to 150 with 3-7-Ace, Ivy calling with 4-6-6, Leila folding 10-7-Jack, Phoenix calling with 5-3-7 and Julie deciding not to defend her bring-in bet with a King-4-3.

The dealer dealt 4th street face up to all 3 players: A King for Ivy, A 4 for Phoenix and a King for Joe. Ivy knocked the table, indicating a check. Phoenix announced "Check." (to try for a free card would fill her straight, make her low, or possibly both) and Joe whispered "Check." The dealer nodded in satisfaction and dealt 5th street face up to everyone: A 2 for Ivy, A second 5 for Phoenix, and a 10 for Joe. Ivy knocked the table again (no improvement), Phoenix knocked the table (the pair was unhelpful) and Joe announced "Check." (needing 2 miracle cards just to qualify for low). "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street face up to each player: A second 2 for Ivy (eliminating his for a low but making a nice high, a third 5 for Phoenix (great for the high but no help for her low) and second 7 for Joe (eliminating his low and not much for a high). Ivy knocked the table again, as did Phoenix and Joe. The dealer patted the table twice and dealt 7th street face down to each player: a meaningless Queen for Ivy, a 6 for Phoenix (which made her a straight and 7-low) and an unhelpful 2 for Joe.

"Check." said Ivy.

"Check." replied Phoenix.

"I check." answered Joe.

"Time to present, everyone." said the dealer.

"2 pair 6's and 2's. No low." showed Ivy.

"7-high straight for high and my low." responded Phoenix.

"Beats my 7's for high and no low. All yours Phoenix." said Joe, finally. Phoenix smiled slightly as she took in her pot of 625.

After everyone anted up, Hand #5 began with Phoenix being the bring-in bet with an exposed 3, Julie folded 5-9-Queen, Joe folding Queen-3-9, Ivy folding 2-7-Jack, Leila electing to complete the bet to 150 with Ace-10-Queen and Phoenix saying "Nah, the Lioness can have this 1." as she folded 9-Jack-3. Leila made an excited squeak as she raked in her pot of 325.

After everyone anted up, Hand #6 began with Phoenix being the bring-in bet with an exposed 2, Julie folding King-10-7, Joe completing the bet to 150 with Jack-Queen-Jack (despite knowing that getting a low hand of any kind was impossible), Ivy calling with 3-7-6, Leila calling with 5-10-10 and Phoenix quietly folding 9-Ace-2 and not defending her bring-in bet.

The dealer dealt 4th street face up to all players: Joe caught a second Queen, Ivy got a second 3 and Leila caught an irrelevant 2.

"Check." said Joe (knowing that if anyone had even a draw to a low hand that he was scared).

"Check." replied Ivy (who wanted to add to his low draw before betting).

"Check." said Leila (who hated catching such a rough card).

The dealer dealt 5th street to everyone face up: a meaningless 7 for Joe, a rough looking 9 for Ivy and a second 5 for Leila. Joe knocked the table to check for having not improved his hand, Ivy did likewise and despite having improved her high, so did Leila (as a low for her would now be impossible). "Betting limits are doubled to 300 and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises" declared the dealer as he dealt 6th street face up to each player: an irrelevant 8 for Joe, a second 9 for Ivy (which eliminated any chance he had for a low hand) and a Jack for Leila that didn't help her at all. Joe knocked the table, as did Ivy and Leila. The dealer patted the table twice and dealt the last card face down to everyone: a third Queen for Joe ("1's a peach, 2's a pair, and 3 is a night to remember." he thought to himself), an Ace for Ivy (which seemed to cut like a knife to him) and a 4 for Leila. Each of them knocked the table to check in sequence.

"Time to show your cards." declared the dealer.

"I have a full house, ladies over jacks, no low." showed Joe.

Ivy and Leila mucked their respective 2 pairs with no lows simultaneously. Joe held up 1 finger as the pot of 625 was shuffled over to him by the dealer.

"#1, Joe P?" asked Julie.

"You know it." answered Joe with a smile, pointing at Julie.

"It's going to be hard to see this table break up." said Leila

"All but Table 1 will by the time the tournament is over so a lot of us will change multiple times." answered Phoenix, who had some experience in changing tales already.

"I have to deal 1 card face up now." said the dealer. "Highest card goes to Table 1, second highest to Table 2 and so on and so forth." Joe got a 3 of Clubs, Ivy a Jack of Diamonds, Leila got a Queen of Diamonds, Phoenix got a Jack of Spades and Julie got a Queen of Spades. The dealer announced "Julie to Table 1, Leila to Table 2, Phoenix to Table 3, Ivy to Table 4 and Joe to Table 5."

The players nodded and were halfway to their new seats when the seating chart showed up on the screen:

Table 1: Isaac, Elizabeth, Laurie, Cindy, Damon, Julie

Table 2: Leila, Gregg, Fabio, Tara, Thom, Andrey

Table 3: Jenny G., Heather, David F., Phoenix, Courtney, Sherry

Table 4: Aaron L., Ivy, Melinda, Buckethead, Angie, Tamara

Table 5: Joe, Krystal, Candy, Mike, John, Ricky

"The first half of the tournament is almost over." announced an inter-dimensional being.

Chapter 7: Ace-Ace-2-3 double suited. Instability, The beginnings of a prison break, the losers lounge and someone else dies.

"Is there anything that we can do to stop the players from having a heightened sense of intuition and visions from other versions of themselves?" It was a long-winded (but fair) question from Inter-dimensional being #1, but the desire for an answer was equal with every word he spoke. It needed to know if any of its' lab rats were going to suddenly become aware that the proverbial cheese at the end of the maze was tainted on a omnicidal level.

"Maybe we took on too many people from too many worlds too quickly. Either way, it's not like we can send the eliminated players back home without tipping someone that is still playing off to our real agenda at this point. They've become too genre savvy to not figure things out before they get home, they're beyond the amnesia that most would have at this point." offered #2. It then turned its' attention over to 1 screen that had monitored pocket universe stability since everyone arrived. "I do have 1 idea. I've noticed that every time we kill 1 of them in this room that the instability subsides for a few minutes. Perhaps we could..."

#1 didn't need to hear the rest of the suggestion to know what #2 was about to say "...Start slaughtering all of the eliminated players to buy us some time? They're all holed up in 1 place and we can't kill them fast enough to not inform those that are still playing. We'd have a revolution on our hands and we'd have to kill them all, erase the energy of them that is still sorting through the last Aarons in our prison and then we would have to choose others from other Aaronworlds and start all over. We wouldn't have to choose as many but they wouldn't be as psychologically fit to handle the concept of being in a pocket universe...in essence, we'd be making the problem a lot worse for ourselves, not better. How many Aarons are left?"

#2 looked at the counter on the console, "We're at...

"Attention all Aaron's and Erin's. We have narrowed Aaron-prime down to 1500 of you, and we promise to work in haste to narrow you down to the original as painlessly as possible. Thank you for your patience."

Dozens of Aarons heard a loud scratching noise coming from 1 of the cells, it took 1 of them paying close attention to figure out and ask "Well, you're not cutting yourself, that's for sure. So might I ask what not on earth that you're doing?"

The Aaron who scratched reluctantly obliged "I've been scratching 1 line in the wall every minute to keep the time. Whoever's eliminating us is doing it like clockwork. Exactly 100 of us disappear every 13 minutes. If the pace holds the original Aaron will be found in 3 hours and 15 minutes."

The Aarons who could hear him were impressed. The Aaron known as Aaron-1906 (no San Francisco Earthquake...that year) offered "At least we know when the time should run out. I've had an idea of my own. You know how we've been travelling between the worlds of our other selves?"

"Yes?" shouted roughly 20 Aaron's.

"Well why can't we visualize ourselves doing something much more simple like opening our cell doors?" asked Aaron-1906.

"Dude! Great idea! Give it a shot!" offered Aaron-1493 (Columbus's ships sank on their way back to Spain)

Aaron-1906 focused all of his attention on the lock of his cell door. After 2 minutes, he gave up. Announcing "Sorry everyone, no go. It was worth a shot though, does anyone else have any other suggestions?"

It was still tricky (even with over 5500 Aarons eliminated), to figure out whom was talking to whom unless 1 was shouting. Thankfully 1 obliged, "If it pleases the 1 who just tried to mentally unlock his cell, myself and a few of the other Aaron-1700's have a suggestion: Try to project yourself back home on your world."

Aaron-1906 screamed a reply "I'll try that, thank you, here it goes." He imagined his home in San Diego: A simple 2-bedroom apartment that was located 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean not far from the navy base that he was born on. But none of the noises that he was used to hearing when he travelled to other worlds was being made. In point of fact, he was beginning to lose his memories of his home (or at least what he thought was his home) but he chose not to reveal that information to anyone at this time. "Sorry guys, strike 2. I'm still here. Maybe we're over-thinking this. If our friends can become dim-prints...why can't we?"

All Aaron-1906 could hear for the following minute or 3 was cheering. All of the Aarons and Erins were united in the eureka moment. Aaron-1906 focused on the bars of the cells, began to walk forward...

...and kept walking forward through the bars, when he returned to solid form, he was a good metre to a metre and a half in front of his cell door. He turned around, saw what was his cell and pumped his fist in the air in victory. A few nearby Aaron's were rubbing their eyes, bewildered that 1 of their own made it through.

The inter-dimensional beings on the other hand, felt nothing but a quantum level of dread. Both of them saw Aaron-1906 do what they thought was impossible for a human being to do on their own.

"We should head down to the prison. If they are breaking free, we could just start firing anti-matter at all of them and when we hit Aaron-Prime, the rest of them will fall like they should." offered inter-dimensional being #2.

Inter-dimensional being #1 shook its' head in dismissal "With that many Aaron's left, we might get 200 of them at the most but the rest would just gang up on us, and if they figure out how to kill us then the entire multiverse could be fucked. We can't take our chances with that many of them left."

"Maybe we could hold all of his friends hostage." counter-offered Inter-dimensional being #2.

"No, it would be like what we discussed before. We would have to start over and pick different friends who aren't as ready to be removed from their lives. Let's wait this out, we may be narrowing them down fast enough where the problems solve themselves" offered #1.

The losers lounge had grown considerably by now with Lindsay, Solveig, Marcel, Harley, Adam, Laura X., Dan, Holly, Megan, Rob, Karl, Trevor, Justin, Kate, Jessica, James, Chiara, Jen L., David K., Laura B., Fabio and Jason all in 1 room. The talking stick was...moot...at this point. But oddly, they remembered to keep quiet to avoid being recorded

"OK, to all of the newcomers: Have you guys been getting information in your head about...other you's?" asked Holly.

Trevor was the first 1 to reply "Not only have I been seeing myself as a silent business partner in a company that apparently supplied the DNA needed to make clones in order for that world's Aaron to stage his own death when some blonde bitch named Isabel was trying to kill him but, when Mike eliminated me he took me aside and thanked me for being Aaron's social handler and as much I don't handle much (if any) of my Aaron's affairs, I know at least 1 of me does somewhere. I've also been seeing...a prison cell. 1 cell in a very large penitentiary."

Jen L. Nodded at those last 3 words, offering "I've been seeing the cells too...and some of them, they're...empty...and moving. Also, I feel like I'm friends with you Trevor and not just in 1 world." Trevor smiled at that, proud that if he was being written into multiple stories that at least he was meeting different people in different books.

Lindsay then began having what some recognized as having a grand mal seizure. Justin went into action, grabbing a spoon from a nearby table and was about to stick it into Lindsay's mouth, but then Lindsay returned to normal.

"Are you alright?" asked Kate.

"Are we going to be going through temporal rejection sickness after all? Asked Jess, very worried.

"No...we'll be OK as long as the...casino holds together. But...an Aaron that isn't my Aaron has broken out of his cell and has begun freeing the others. I don't know how he pulled it off exactly, but he did." said Lindsay.

"Maybe you're going to see more than the rest of us because you're linked to Aaron genetically?" said Jason in a way that was half-thought and half-question.

"That would stand to reason." said Megan while nodding.

"Question is, what do we do now?" asked Dan.

"Should we run back into the poker tournament and inform the others? Asked Laura X.

"No, we have no evidence other than what goes on in our heads and there are people who are likely dismissing everything in order to keep themselves sane." replied Solveig.

"I agree, I suggest we wait it out. Wait for Aaron...sorry...the Aarons to come to us. My instinct is telling me that they will know what to do." offered Fabio.

"My husband who is not my husband is right." seconded Chiara.

"Has anyone noticed where Tina is?" asked Laura B.

"Or Susan for that matter?" asked Adam.

"Maybe 1 of us should go out looking for them." suggested Marcel

"Not a bad idea, Master Bulling." offered David K.

"Any volunteers?" asked Harley.

"I'll go." asked Rob, while raising his hand.

"Be careful." offered James

"Lindsay, if you don't mind, I'd like to monitor you constantly. I just became a doctor 2 years ago on my world so I'm your best bet." suggested Justin.

Lindsay nodded. Karl found a pad of paper (that was only there for decoration), a pen and handed it to Rob, while saying "Leave a note in each room you're in. So if Tina or Susan are wandering around they can follow your...trail of breadcrumbs."

Rob smiled and silently shook Karl's hand before leaving.

"How are the dim-prints still touching us and sending us home?"

A valid question from Aaron-1919 (no black sox scandal), one that another...Erin...was sure to provide the answer:

"Whatever it is that is causing our friends to be sending us home must still be going on." replied Erin-1867 (Confederation in Canada never happened, leading America to take over the country north of them in the early 20th century of that world).

Aaron-1919 nodded, then shouted "How many of us are out so far?"

Judging from the shouting, there were about 20.

"See, look. Yes a few of them are starting to go free but, what is free when their friends are still finding the wrong Aaron's and sending them home? And no one in the losers lounge are a threat either."

It was a valid point that #2 brought to #1, and #1 knew it. "OK, I suppose I was hasty to panic. Besides, we have someone to help us...stabilize this pocket universe.

#1 and #2 turned their attention to Rob, who had been found, bound and gagged not 5 minutes ago. They stared at him unnervingly for the better part of 2 minutes before they decided to be nice and give him the information he went looking for.

"Susan..."

"...and Tina..."

"...are right there."

It doesn't really matter who said what, but both pointed to the 2 piles of ashes in the room. Rob knew full well what that meant, he did not however, know what was going on with their eyes. They turned...blood red as they fired. Rob's last moments alive consisted of him burning to death from the inside, he screamed in desperation, only to be notified "Go ahead and scream all you want, the room is soundproofed. And your mouth is still gagged" While the inter-dimensional being walked behind the control console paying no attention to Rob, who by now no longer had lungs to draw breath. He did look at the ashes he left behind and remarked, "Not even worth cleaning up"

#2 stared at the console again "That stabilized the pocket universe by 11%."

"Excellent." replied #1.

"And our guests in the losers lounge appear to be...engaging in some sort of primitive sign-based game with their hands." observed #2 with an awkward look on his face.

"Let me see that..." said #1 impatiently, shoving #2 to the side. He saw 3 symbols being made: 1 with 2 fingers, 1 with a closed fist, 1 with an open hand (sometimes in the form of the claw).

"It's rock-paper-scissors, you fucking idiot." yelled #1.


End file.
